It was the obvious storyline after a nine-day break in which some of the Vancouver Canucks went to Mexico, some went back home and some stayed put. A slow and sloppy start to open a four-game road trip was expected. Scoring on their first shot and two goals on their first four against the Colorado Avalanche wasn’t.

The Canucks looked fresh and fast out of the gate. Jake Virtanen’s dash to the net to open scoring and Brock Boeser’s no-hesitation, down-on-one-knee wrist rocket from the slot off a Elias Pettersson face-off win were encouraging signs. Brandon Sutter even drew the second assist on the opening goal for just his second helper. His first came on opening night.

Nikolay Goldobin, who returned after sitting out the previous four games and six of nine, was aggressive early on the forecheck and engaged a defender physically. He even tried to block a shot before ripping home a third-period power-play laser for his first goal in 14 games.

It got better.

Antoine Roussel set up the opening goal and then scored his sixth goal, and Tyler Motte got his seventh. And Loui Eriksson was denied on a shorthanded breakaway. If that wasn’t enough, it took the 20th shot, a deflected point effort that trickled over the shoulder of Jacob Markstrom, to finally beat the sharp starter in the second period.

Here’s what we learned as the Canucks claimed a 5-1 victory to move past the slumping Avalanche (3-8-0) in the wacky Western Conference wild-card playoff position race:

Canucks winger Jake Virtanen scores on Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov in the first period in Denver on Saturday night, off a feed from Antoine Roussel.Joe Mahoney /
AP

Virtanen got rather subtle message

Maybe it was that practice the day before the Jan. 23 loss to Carolina.

Virtanen wasn’t in line rushes, and even though Travis Green didn’t indicate the winger might be a healthy scratch for the first time this season — he did play in the 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes but his goalless streak hit 13 games — there was still speculation that he might get a wake-up call. He didn’t.

The ask of Virtanen isn’t complicated. Use your speed and take a direct route to the net, whether you have the puck or not. His bolt to the net for a career-high 12th goal was a light-bulb moment. When Antoine Roussel bolted down the right side and fed a backhander to Virtanen’s tape, he redirected it with a backhand effort. He also added an assist on Roussel’s goal.

Avs winger Matt Calvert scores on a redirected shot in front of defenceman Erik Gudbranson and goalie Jacob Markstrom in the second period. It was the only goal allowed by Markstrom, who made 34 saves.Joe Mahoney /
AP

Markstrom makes a major mark

Finding your skating legs after a long break is one thing; finding your form as a goaltender is harder.

Markstrom showed early that his calm and poised positioning was going go make a difference against the league’s fifth-ranked power play, which was nullified on three chances. And holding Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen — who had combined for 79 goals and 199 points through the first 50 games — off the scoresheet was crucial.

Markstrom didn’t panic when Ben Hutton was pressured on an outlet pass from the corner boards by Landeskog and coughed up the puck, which forced the starter to stop Rantanen. He also stopped Tyson Barrie on a backdoor play by moving smartly from post to post, and then got the better of Rantanen again on a backhand-to-forehand power-play move. Markstrom finished with 34 saves.

Pretty Pettersson play in limited ice

Maybe it was more about the matchups, more about not getting into a track meet.

Whatever the rationale, the Calder Trophy front-runner logged the least amount of ice of club centres through two periods. The centre had just 4:16 of ice in the first period and 8:01 through 40 minutes.

That didn’t stop Pettersson from producing a jaw-dropping play. In the opening period, he froze defenceman Ian Cole by first faking a forehand and putting the puck between his own skates, before spinning and feeding Goldobin for a scoring chance.

Canucks winger Antoine Roussel was a standout in the game, setting up the opening goal by Jake Virtanen then scoring himself in the second period off a nice feed from behind the net by Bo Horvat.Joe Mahoney /
AP

Roussel drags them back into fight

Maybe it was that fresh mountain air in Whistler during the break that rejuvenated the winger.

He looked like he was shot out of a cannon on the opening goal and then went one better on his goal. On a dominating shift, he got to the net and buried a Bo Horvat feed to the far side to give the Canucks a three-goal cushion. Roussel also showed restraint when he didn’t get the benefit of the doubt on two plays where penalties should have been called as he was interfered with and thrown to the ice.

NEXT GAME: Monday

• White Towel Podcast: Columnist Ed Willes and Paul Chapman talk about what the NHL All-Star Game meant to Vancouver rookie Elias Pettersson and how the experience of a young player being included with the game’s greats is often overlooked, the Canucks’ trade market, and last week’s “Pricklygate:”

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